News Release

Small Business Hiring Growth Pauses in April, According to CBIZ Small Business Employment Index

- Small Business Employment Index records a flat reading for April, a
month which historically exhibits increased hiring -

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2018--
The CBIZ
Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), which tracks hiring trends among
thousands of companies that employ 300 or fewer employees across the
U.S., reported a month-over-month decrease in hiring of 0.21 percent in
April, following an increase in hiring of 1.39 percent in March.

“Small businesses may be hitting the pause button ahead of seasonal
spring hiring,” says Philip
Noftsinger, Executive Vice President, CBIZ Employee Benefits.
“Despite the fact that April is typically a positive month for hiring
among small business owners, we’ll look toward the later spring months
to create any consistent message of a slowdown in the labor market.”

ADP and Moody’s Analytics reported Wednesday that the private sector
once again beat expectations, adding 204,000 jobs in April.

April’s snapshot: When compared to the March SBEI reading, 22.5
percent of companies increased their employee count, 52 percent did
not make a change to their staff, and 25.5 percent decreased their
headcounts. Since the SBEI’s inception in 2009, the April reading has
demonstrated an average hiring increase of 1.48 percent.

Geographical hiring: Regionally, the Northeast saw excellent
hiring with a 1.53 percent increase, while the other three regions
registered flat readings: the Central decreased mildly by 0.59
percent, the Southeast by 0.16 percent and the West by 0.04 percent.

What’s next? To date, 2018 has proven to be an inconsistent
year for hiring within the small business labor market. As business
owners continue to dissect the effect of tax reform, larger companies
are reporting strong earnings growth, contributing to confidence in
the overall economic picture. How Wall Street growth will affect Main
Street labor economics has yet to be seen.

CBIZ Payroll Services manages payroll services for more than 4,000
businesses. Its index reflects a broad array of industries and
geographies corresponding to the markets across the U.S. where CBIZ
provides human capital services. The data represented by the SBEI is
derived from a segment of employers not completely accounted for by the
ADP and Federal BLS employment reports.

CBIZ, Inc. provides professional business services that help clients
better manage their finances and employees. CBIZ provides its clients
with financial services including accounting, tax, financial advisory,
government health care consulting, risk advisory, real estate consulting
and valuation services. Employee services include employee benefits
consulting, property and casualty insurance, retirement plan consulting,
payroll, life insurance, HR consulting and executive recruitment. As one
of the largest accounting, insurance brokerage and valuation companies
in the United States, the Company’s services are provided through more
than 100 Company offices in 33 states. CBIZ Employee Services
Organization is a division of CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services, Inc.